


Family

by Coulsonsss



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bonding, Family Feels, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-29
Updated: 2014-04-29
Packaged: 2018-01-21 05:49:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1539956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coulsonsss/pseuds/Coulsonsss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Phil Coulson had a girlfriend. Years after her sudden death, their daughter finds an old photo album and the young girl has questions that need to be addressed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Family

**Author's Note:**

> This was written PRE Captain America: The Winter Solider, so that's why SHIELD is still around in the ficlet.  
> * * *  
> Tallulah Wicks and Wren belong to my friend, Lunafrak 
> 
> Malcolm is shared between the two of us
> 
> Chloe and Alice Harrison are my characters. 
> 
> All other Marvel characters belong to their respected owners.

Tallulah Wicks could have sworn that she had only closed her eyes for ten minutes, but the change in daytime talk shows on TV begged to differ.  
She sat up from the spot on the couch, yawning and stretching as she halfheartedly listened to the program. Tallulah yawned again and looked around the living room, trying to remember what she was doing before her late afternoon nap; it didn’t take her long to remember the towels on the coffee table in front of her. “Oh. Yeah,” Tallulah sighed and sat up, popping her back slightly.  
She finished folding the rest of the towels, listening to the woman on TV complain about a problem Tallulah only wished she could have. 

She grabbed the laundry basket and headed down the hallway of the apartment, she passed Chloe’s door deciding not to wake her up just yet. Tallulah continued onwards to her destination, arriving at the bathroom in Coulson’s bedroom. She opened the linen closet and began to put away the towels, this wasn’t anything extraordinary, but it was something that Tallulah enjoyed doing for Phil; she enjoyed doing anything that would help him out.  
Ever since Phil had lost Alice almost five years ago he had become an almost completely different man. When the accident happened, Phil had quit S.H.I.E.L.D., moved away, and dropped almost all contact with his old team and friends within a week of Alice’s death. He had tried to go “off The Grid” but with a newborn, which was nearly impossible, he still needed help, and he needed a few contacts inside of S.H.I.E.L.D. And Tallulah was thankful for those needs, thankful that Phil didn’t take Chloe and fully disappear from her life. 

However, Phil was getting better. It was a slow process in the months that Tallulah had been helping him, but it was happening.  
Tallulah took the now empty basket and walked back down the hallway, she stopped suddenly when she noticed the door to Phil’s private office.  
The door was ajar, which was odd considering that the door was always closed and locked. She never asked Phil what was in the office, that wasn’t her business and she knew he’d tell her and show her when he was ready, but there was always that underlying curiosity.  
Tallulah sat the basket down and carefully grabbed the doorknob, opening the door very quietly, almost expecting to show see Phil on the other side of the door, she glanced at the desk in front of the door, she saw no Phil, instead she focused on the sight in the floor. 

 

In the floor of the room sat a little brown headed girl, completely engrossed in the book she was looking at. Tallulah took a few steps forward, Chloe never noticed, she was too busy looking at the book in her hands. Tallulah watched her as she turned a page. The closer Tallulah got she slowly realized that the book that Chloe was holding was a photo album. 

Her heart sank. 

 

“Chloe?” Tallulah’s voice broke the silence in the room, it caused Chloe to jump. She quickly shut the book and stared at Tallulah, looking like a little fawn caught in the headlights. “I-I-Didn’t…The door was unlocked and…you were asleep...Please, don’t tell daddy,” Chloe begged, tears in her green eyes.  
Tallulah just smiled sympathetically at the young girl. She knew she had to tell Phil, she wouldn’t risk lying to him and him growing angry and banning her from the house, or worse, banning her from Chloe.  
“What are you looking at, Chloe?” She asked, sitting beside her on the carpeted floor. 

Chloe hugged the book to her chest, after realizing that she wasn’t in trouble she then let go when Tallulah asked, she put it back on the floor, “Daddy’s picture book, but…I don’t know some of these words.” She spoke quietly, pointing to the handwriting on the tag that was on the cover of the album. Tallulah looked at the tag, reading what she recognized as Alice’s handwriting. 

“It says “Phil’s surprise party” Tallulah read it to Chloe; Tallulah was suddenly realizing when most of these photos were taken, her chest felt heavy.  
Chloe was oblivious to the pained expression on Tallulah’s face as she smiled and moved closer, sitting right next to Tallulah as she opened the album. “Daddy’s real name is Phil! I bet he’s in some of these pictures!” she eagerly opened the album, studying the photos on the first page.  
Tallulah watched her, seeing how she focused on the photos “Do you know who any of these people are?” She asked softly. Chloe nodded, not taking her eyes off the pictures.  
“Some of them, I know that’s Tony Stark and the lady laughing beside him is Pepper. I see them on TV sometimes, and sometimes when I hear daddy talk on the phone, he mentions Pepper, I think he might know her,” She pointed to another photo. “That’s Thor! I see him on TV too!” She giggled, “And that man in that picture is Captain America!” Chloe’s eyes widen even more with excitement when she turned the page, seeing more familiar faces. Tallulah couldn’t help but smile at her excitement, even though her heart was close to breaking as Chloe looked over the photos. 

“There’s daddy! He’s smiling and everything! He looks so happy! And look! I know that lady with red hair! Her name is Nat, one time she came and visited me when I was playing in the park, that man in the photo came with her too, he talked to daddy, and he said his name is Clint.”  
Chloe looked at the photo next to it in the album, “That’s Wren! And Malcom is there too! And she’s with Fitz in the picture. They like each other a lot. I can tell,” Tallulah smiled more at Chloe’s little observations and facts.  
Chloe stopped looked up at Tallulah. “ ‘Lullah, who are these people?” She pointed to a photograph of a group that she didn’t recognize. Tallulah smiled as she looked at the photo.  
“That’s Skye, the man in the middle is named Ward, and this woman’s name is May.” Tallulah pointed to each of them as she named them, “They were very good friends of your dad’s.” 

“”Does daddy not like them anymore?” She asked innocently. 

“I think your daddy does still like them, it’s just hard for him to see them right now,” 

Chloe listened to Tallulah’s words as she studied the photo, her eyes settling on another picture. “Who is this?” She asked Tallulah again. Tallulah’s face brightened at the sight of the girl in the photo. “That’s Jemma. She’s a friend of your dads too,”  
Chloe caught her expression “Was she your friend too?”  
Tallulah nodded “She was. All of these people were, they were all your daddy and I had. They were our family.” Chloe rested her head on Tallulah’s arm as she continued on through the pictures.  
“Daddy is so happy in these pictures, I bet his party was a lot of fun, it looks fun,” She said as she flipped through the photos, her head still on Tallulah’s arm.  
“It was. It was a party just for your daddy. We all somehow managed to get together on your daddy’s birthday and he was so surprised. It was a lot of fun,” It hurt Tallulah to remember, to look through these pictures with Chloe, because that was the last time they were all gathered together. This was Phil’s last birthday before losing Alice a year later. 

Chloe flipped through a few more pages, seeing the people in the photos their happy expressions caught forever in time. Chloe stopped and sat back up when another photo caught her eye. “Tallulah, look! It’s you!” Chloe was amazed at the photo. “Your dress is sooo pretty! Who’s this man with you in the picture? You two look happy!” She looked up at Tallulah. 

Tallulah stared at the photo, her eyes swelling with tears. She quickly wiped her eyes. “That’s James. We use to date.” She smiled fondly, suddenly overwhelmed with mixed emotions from all the photos.  
Chloe looked up at her again. “Why…Why did you stop dating?” She asked quietly, her little hand resting on top of Tallulah’s, trying to comfort her the best way she knew how. “W-was that a bad question to ask?” Chloe spoke softly, eyes fixed on Tallulah. 

Tallulah shook her head, “No, sweetie. It’s not a bad question, I promise,” She wiped her eyes again and smiled. “James and I stopped dating because we just had very busy schedules. We never got to see each other, but we’re still friends,” Chloe thought about this for a moment then slowly nodded her head as she processed the information.  
“Tallulah, am I still your friend? Because I’m sorry I made you sad, if you don’t want to be friends anymore its ok,” Chloe was about to cry herself.  
Tallulah cried a bit more a Chloe’s innocence. “Yes, sweetie, you’re always going to be my friend. You didn’t make me sad because of your question. I don’t want you to think that, okay? I want you to know it’s always ok to ask me questions,” She kissed the top of Chloe’s head. 

Chloe smiled again and nodded. She put her head back against Tallulah’s arm. “Ok,” She returned her attention to the album. “There are only a few more pages left, Tallulah. Do you want to keep looking at the pictures with me?” Chloe asked her. Tallulah nodded.  
“I do,” She watched as Chloe turned a few more pages, frozen faces of her friends and family passing as Chloe would look at each page and then turn the page, some pages she asked questions or made comments, some pages she was silent. 

“Hey! Why did the pictures stop? The album isn’t over. We have a few more pages to go!” Chloe furrowed her brow, quickly flipping through the empty pages, not happy there wasn’t anything to look at.  
Tallulah’s heart began to race, as she watched Chloe flip through the pages. Tallulah had noticed a distinct lack of pictures of Alice in the album. She had assumed Alice was the on taking most of the pictures, but it still didn’t make sense that there were no pictures of her in the entire album. 

Tallulah’s dread came to a head when Chloe reached the last two pages of the book. 

There she was. 

Alice Harrison was stationary in time. Her face, her smile, things that Tallulah thought she’d never see again, there they were. The tears suddenly came back as she looked at the photo. It was of Phil and Alice both, his arms wrapped around her waist, he was holding her close as they both smiled for the camera.  
They were happy and in love, the way Tallulah remembered them.  
She glanced down at Chloe, who wasn’t moving or saying anything, she caught the way that Chloe was looking at the pictures. This was a different way than how she had looked at the others. She looked curious and maybe a little sad; there was even some confusion on her face. 

Tallulah had always assumed it would be Phil that told her about Alice, about the terrible fate that befell her and how she died minutes after giving birth. But, Phil wasn’t here. This was just her and Chloe. 

Tallulah carefully watched her, she was a quiet child, but even a silence like this wasn’t normal for her. “Chloe?” 

Chloe didn’t speak instead her tiny finger rested on the image of Coulson. She looked her father over in the picture. “That’s daddy,” She said confidently but softly, her finger slid across the picture now resting on Alice.  
“Tallulah, who is this?”  
Tallulah suddenly found it hard to talk; she paused for a moment before finding her words.  
“Her name is Alice,” she gently replied.  
“Alice,” Chloe repeated her name again, eyes still fixated on the photo. “Is…She my mommy?”  
Tallulah was now fully aware she was treading on dangerous ground. She needed to be careful, but she also knew she had an obligation to Chloe. Tallulah had promised that she would answer any question she asked. 

“Yes sweetie, that’s your mommy” 

“She’s pretty,” her quiet voice spoke as her finger traced Alice’s face. Chloe stopped and reached to her own hair, touching it. “My hair is like hers, it’s the same color too!”  
“Your smile is like hers too, Chloe,”  
When Tallulah said that, Chloe smiled.  
She looked away from the photo for the first time since seeing it, looking at Tallulah with excitement.  
“It is?”  
“Yes, it is. You have her smile, and her hair, and her laugh too,”  
Chloe turned back to the photo. She studied everything about it.  
“I’ve never seen a picture of her before. Daddy hid them all from me,” 

“Your daddy misses her a lot,” explained Tallulah. “He loved her,” 

Chloe looked at another picture as she listened to Tallulah’s words, a frown on her face.  
“Does daddy still love her?”  
“He still cares about her,” Tallulah confirmed gently. “That’s why these pictures make him sad; they bring back painful memories,” 

Chloe nodded, snuggling against Tallulah’s side even further. She was still fixated on Alice’s photo, her finger on the photo, taking it in. She was scared she wasn’t going to be able to see the photo again after today.  
“I’m glad that daddy still loves her, I don’t want him to stop loving her, just like I don’t want him to stop loving you,” 

Chloe’s words brought tears to Tallulah’s eyes , she put her arm around the girl and squeezed her, kissing the top of her head. 

Chloe smiled at Tallulah’s kiss, “Can I ask you one more question, Tallulah? Before we have to put the picture book up?” 

“You can always ask me one last question,” 

“Why isn’t my mommy here?” 

That was the question that stung, the question that Tallulah was dreading, the one question she had been expecting since going through the album. But, she was grateful it was her being asked and not Phil.  
It had been almost five years and Tallulah wasn’t sure if Phil would have been able to answer it without breaking down. She didn’t blame him, Phil was slowly starting to open up more and more to her about Alice’s death, but she had realized from day one of arriving at their home that it was still a sore wound. 

He was still mourning. 

“Your mommy isn’t here because she died right after you were born, Chloe. She got very sick and used all her strength to make sure you were born safely,” Tallulah looked down at Chloe, who was staring up at her wide eyed “Am I the reason that mommy isn’t here anymore!?” 

“No, No sweetie! Don’t ever think that,” Tallulah hugged her close to her side again. She kissed the top of her head again as well. “Don’t ever think that. Your being born isn’t the reason your mommy died.” 

Chloe just listened to Tallulah, her eyes watery. As the blinked a few tears fell from her eyes, she hugged Tallulah tightly. “Okay, I won’t think that,” She softly muttered.  
She held onto Tallulah, resting her head against her for a few moments before pulling away. “I think….that I’m done looking at these pictures for today,” Chloe said, her attention going to Alice’s pictures one last time. She leaned forward and kissed the photo. “I’ll see you again soon, Mommy,”  
Tallulah smiled emotionally as Chloe slowly closed the book. The little girl then stood up and put it back in the box in the closest where she had found it. Tallulah stood up, wiping her eyes again as she watched Chloe. 

Chloe walked back over to Tallulah and took her hand, gently squeezing it. “I have some more questions, but I can wait and ask them later…And Tallulah? Thank you for letting me see those pictures of mommy. I know I shouldn’t have come in here, and it’s ok if you tell daddy now. We shouldn’t lie to him about it,” 

“You’re right, we shouldn’t,” Tallulah agreed, taking Chloe’s hand as they both left Phil’s office together. “We’ll tell him after dinner, does that sound fair?”  
Chloe nodded her head in agreement, “It does”  
The girls both walked to the living room, sitting on the couch together. Chloe nestled against Tallulah’s side once they were settled; Chloe never said anything as they sat together, she just listened to the TV, her mind still pondering everything she had seen today. She took Tallulah’s hand again, still not saying a word. Chloe realized that even if Alice wasn’t there with her to be her mom, she had Tallulah who already did all the things that a mom was supposed to do. She smiled and closed her eyes, deciding to take another nap before dinner.


End file.
